| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 19, 2003 |
Leading Forestry Research Journal Focuses on Remote Sensing
The Society of American Foresters has published a special issue of Forest Science that showcases how remote sensing is being used by foresters to meet ever increasing demands on forests. The special issue of SAF’s internationally renowned forestry research journal includes a dozen papers by many of the most important researchers in the remote sensing field.Although remote sensing has been an integral part of forestry since the integration of aerial photographs into forest inventory in the 1920s, the rapid pace of sensor development and information needs in the past three decades has led to an explosion of forestry remote sensing research and applications.
“Demands on forests are increasing and the information required to sustainably manage forests in the face of this demand must also increase,” writes Randolph Wynne, associate professor of forestry at Virginia Tech and editor of the special issue. “Foresters are being asked to increase production of wood and fiber on an ever-decreasing land base while maintaining the important supplies of public goods (viable fish and wildlife populations, clean water, and recreational opportunities) that well-managed forests have always provided. To meet this challenge, forest managers will require new types of information, and remote sensing will be an important piece of the overall information puzzle. The research results reported in this special issue of Forest Science will eventually lead to better information on, and therefore better management of, our forest resources.”
The 12 papers in this issue are a cross-section of the scope of data and applications in forestry remote sensing. The data includes aerial photographs, lidar data, hyperspectral images, radar data, and Earth resource satellite data. The data is being used for forest inventory, ecological land type delineation, harvest detection, chlorophyll mapping and monitoring, windthrow detection and mapping, and global forest cover mapping.
Forest Science, published bimonthly in February, April, June, August, October and December, for more than 45 years has been publishing significant forestry research articles on silviculture, soils, biometry, disease, recreation, photosynthesis, and tree physiology as well as all aspects of forest management and harvesting and policy analysis. All papers in the special issue were peer reviewed under the guidelines of Forest Science and first published as a special issue of that publication in June 2003.
The 288-page, soft cover special issue costs $30 for SAF members, $37.50 for nonmembers. For information about the special issue and to order online, visit the SAF Store at store.safnet.org and go to the Books section, or call (301) 897-8720, ext. 106.
The Society of American Foresters is a nonprofit organization that represents more than 17,000 professional foresters and natural resource professionals. It is the scientific and educational association representing the profession of forestry in the United States. The Society’s primary objective is to advance the science, technology, education, and practice of professional forestry for the benefit of society.
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